10 Slowly Getting on Track

The pastry is a small treat made of rice cake mixed with purple rice, quite delicious.

There was a long queue when Yu Zhi arrived, and she had to wait for over half an hour to make her purchase. Each person was limited to two portions, with about eight pieces per portion, costing ten yuan in total.

"That was close," Yu Zhi remarked. "I almost didn't get any."

Someone nearby smiled and asked if she was a tourist. Yu Zhi nodded, "Yes, I saw online that this place had good food, so I rushed over early this morning."

The passerby replied, "That's true. Tao's makes the best; they sell out by the morning. If you'd come any later, they'd be gone by ten."

When Yu Zhi left, another long line had already formed behind her. Checking the time, it was nine o'clock, and a taxi ride to the sacrificial altar was estimated to take 32 minutes. Yu Zhi asked the driver if he could hurry, as she was in a rush.

"How about I skip the GPS and take the back roads?" the female driver suggested.

"Deal!"

A momentary trust was established between strangers. Fortunately, the driver didn't try to scam her; she took the back roads and dropped Yu Zhi off at the entrance of the scenic area in just 26 minutes. "Cars aren't allowed inside, so you'll have to walk the rest of the way," she said.

Yu Zhi paid, thanked her, hopped out, and hurried to the ticket booth. The entire scenic area was covered by a single ticket, and there were very few people—only three or four stood in the entrance plaza, so there was no need to queue.

"Phoenix Terrace... is there a shuttle that goes there?" she asked, glancing at the simple map on the back of her ticket.

The area had few attractions but covered a massive expanse. The Phoenix Terrace and the meteorite crater alone took up half the space, followed by a museum and a sealed-off area marked as an archaeological site, strictly off-limits.

There were crude, somewhat dilapidated-looking electric shuttle carts, radiating a sense of weathered desolation.

"Need a ride, miss? Which way? Phoenix Terrace or the museum?" the driver called out.

There were so few people that no one else was waiting for a ride.

"Phoenix Terrace," Yu Zhi said.

The driver looked around. "Alright, hop on. No one else is coming right now, so I'll take you straight there." There was no need to carpool.

Yu Zhi paid two yuan and arrived in three minutes—the driver drove quite aggressively, forcing her to grip the seat back tightly. After dropping her off, he drifted around a corner and sped away, kicking up dust in his wake.

The path at the altar was dusty, and the entrance led directly to the artifacts themselves. Similar to the Great Wall, it was designed for visitors to climb. It was a massive sacrificial site built of stone, with long flights of stairs stretching toward the sky; what lay at the top was impossible to see.

Along the path to the altar stood enormous, mysterious stone statues, ranging from three meters to nearly ten meters in height. The path also featured stone slabs carved with patterns deeply embedded in the ground, some parts of which had been broken or pried away by unknown hands.

Standing at the entrance, Yu Zhi stared at the scene in awe. Feng City was located on a plain with few mountains, and the area was wide open, devoid of any mountain ranges. As far as the eye could see, it was vast and empty, with only the sacrificial altar standing tall. In the distance, beyond the meteorite crater, lay a lush forest.

Before Xun Ni arrived, there were two other people waiting besides Yu Zhi. The guided tour was free, starting from the entrance, where the guide would lead visitors forward, climbing and recounting the solemn, dignified sacrificial rituals of that history.

***

Bo Qiao and Xu Huang woke up at 9:30. They wanted to lounge in bed, but Yu Zhi had already left messages in their group chat, outlining their tasks for the day. The two decided to get up immediately, wash, and head out for breakfast.

"Should we start by compiling the job applications into a spreadsheet?" Bo Qiao asked.

"It’s similar to club recruitment, right?" Xu Huang replied. "It shouldn't be too much trouble. We might struggle with setting the compensation, but that's fine—I saw the salary ranges listed on the job postings."

Bo Qiao nodded. "Right. We'll have them state their expected salary, record it, and let Zhi Zhi decide when she gets back."

It wasn't difficult, just tedious, as it required verifying qualifications and experience to see if they met the requirements. The people applying at this stage were a chaotic mix. Yu Zhi had already outlined the general situation of Zhengzheng Film & Television in her account registration and verified her official status.

The office address was a bit of a headache. After some deliberation, she decided to list the location on Tanxi Road. Yu Zhi knew she couldn't interview candidates at the office; it would look like a scam. Doing it at a hotel would be even more absurd—it would scream "pyramid scheme!"

So, she instructed in the group chat: first, recruit film assistants who could start immediately and travel flexibly; second, for fixed positions like finance and HR, interested candidates should suggest a time for an online interview.

Yu Zhi realized that while the side quest required a "ten-person team," it didn't specify the roles. She had set Bo Qiao and Xu Huang as intern assistants and drafted short-term labor contracts for them the day before, which updated the side quest status to "3/10."

She counted herself as part of the team, so it wasn't that difficult. She just needed to recruit seven more flexible employees to meet the quota and see what this "fully furnished company" was all about.

Actually, Yu Zhi wanted to include the directors and screenwriters, but the Screenwriter App made a clear distinction: the film crew was separate from the company. The former was a one-time collaboration, while the latter was a long-term contract. Their signing terms were different.

Seven assistants weren't many. Once the crew was in place and they reached the script approval and table read stages, they would need plenty of support—helping the directors and writers, coordinating locations, and handling food and lodging. Even a micro-drama shot by college students required seven or eight people; an S-tier investment production was comparable to a small business.

Xu Huang had experience with club recruitment at school, and Bo Qiao had participated in many volunteer activities. Working together, they were a bit nervous at first, but after half an hour, they hit their stride.

***

Cai Yanni didn't know what to do after waking up. She had missed breakfast and didn't dare eat at the hotel—it was too expensive! She found a small roadside eatery and had a bowl of "laowan" noodles for twelve yuan. It was delicious.

She had wired the money she received last night back home, keeping one thousand yuan for herself, which she estimated would be enough since Yu Zhi provided room and board. "Ah, I should have woken up earlier!" she regretted. She had been so tired, and once the stress of finding work was lifted, she had fallen into a deep, sweet sleep.

Cai Yanni had been terrified the previous night when she learned she had to stay over. Once she picked her room and was alone, she had screamed with excitement, bragged to her friends, and basked in their envy before finally drifting off from exhaustion.

Now full and clear-headed, she looked at the new WeChat group she had joined yesterday. There was a group for the director, one for the writers, and there would likely be countless others soon. Some of her old work groups had removed her, while others remained. Her phone was buzzing incessantly, as if she were a major figure influencing global trends.

Cai Yanni felt a bit dazed. She remembered Yu Zhi complaining that "WeChat is such a pain." Sigh, it was indeed a pain, but there was no other way.

Ding Huan and the others said they would compile the filing information for the *Power Grab* TV and web series together and needed to familiarize themselves with the novel quickly. The former had a fixed format and could be done in two days, as all five of them were seasoned workers. The latter was more difficult; the novel was so long that just reading it through would take two or three days. They also had to quickly extract scenes suitable for interviews and convert them into script format.

Cai Yanni replied "Received" in the group and left the eatery.

***

At two in the afternoon, Yu Zhi returned to the hotel from outside. It seemed no one had the habit of taking an afternoon nap. Pei Zhao, Lang Qing, Wen, and Zhai Duo had all woken up early and skipped their naps too.

Bo Qiao and Xu Huang sent Yu Zhi the Excel sheet they had prepared, which also included the issues they had encountered. "Most are asking about the work location and benefits. I rejected the unreliable ones, and I've highlighted the ones with impressive resumes," Bo Qiao said.

The directors and writers were busy in the conference room; as Yu Zhi opened the door, she heard them "arguing." Their comments regarding the novel and script were just a bit intense. Closing the door, Yu Zhi went to the suite with Bo Qiao and Xu Huang.

"Let me see," Yu Zhi said. The spreadsheet wasn't pretty, but it was concise, with hyperlinks to resumes for easy access.

As Yu Zhi reviewed them, she used the Screenwriter App to search for information on the candidates. Bo Qiao and Xu Huang continued to handle the private messages, doing the first round of screening. Because time was tight and she had the help of her "golden finger," Yu Zhi quickly identified the talent she needed: one HR professional, one accountant, and five assistants.

"Should we keep looking?" Xu Huang asked.

"Yes," Yu Zhi replied.

"Wow, is the company that big?" Bo Qiao asked.

"Yes, the company is suuuuper big," Yu Zhi said. In truth, she needed production managers, location scouts, publicists, executive agents, and so many more, but everything depended on the company unlocking.

Xu Huang saw a name Yu Zhi had selected and asked curiously, "Why this one? I remember someone named Ou Xin had a stellar resume." That was for the HR position.

Yu Zhi’s tone was disdainful. "He lied. He’s never worked in HR; all the info was fabricated. Plus, he wasn't laid off; he was fired for sexual harassment and making lewd comments." With the Screenwriter App, she could see that candidates with only 10% compatibility often had disgusting records. She had only glanced at his file and felt like she needed to wash her eyes.

"!!!" Xu Huang gasped.

"Ew," Bo Qiao said, looking disgusted.

Yu Zhi rubbed her eyes. "It's not that women don't have issues, but from now on, if you have a choice, prioritize women."

"Yes!" Xu Huang cheered.

"Got it, girls help girls," Bo Qiao added.

After contacting the candidates, their requests were reasonable. The assistants were mostly concerned about working hours, as the film industry was notorious for overtime. The HR and finance candidates had more specific requirements, as their expertise gave them the leverage to choose their employers.

Yu Zhi didn't want to be an exploitative capitalist. She had a Gen-Z-style obsession with a five-day work week and a genuine desire to see if she could build a company that functioned normally with proper benefits. She ended up having a very pleasant chat with them, and they easily agreed on standard benefits.

She was about to tell them to come to the hotel for final interviews and to sign contracts while the company was being renovated, but as soon as both parties confirmed their intent to cooperate, the Screenwriter App popped up.

Yu Zhi read through the notification in a flash.

[Random Task: Side Quest Triggered Successfully]
"Congratulations on finding suitable help! Detection indicates a signing success rate of over 95%! Nine people (awaiting entry), ten-person team nearly assembled! To facilitate the task, early entry status has been activated! Please complete the signing of all ten contracts within two days!"

[Task Reward: Enter Formal Side Quest—The Fully Furnished Company]
[Side Quest: The Fully Furnished Company]
"You need a home base to have a complete company. Grow your potential as a leader. Win a proper venue for your subordinates! Please complete the basic staffing of the company within one week."

[Unlocked: A 100-square-meter office]
[Task Reward: Area expansion x 200 square meters, plus supporting activity space]

Yu Zhi: "..."

One hundred square meters—my dream office. Are you saying I can finally go into that building now!